Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

[jehan]

There is a difference here.  The prank on Sarah Palin was a prank on a public figure who had put herself in the public eye and knew that she would get both positive and negative attacks and knew she would have to handle press attention.

While this prank has been termed a prank on the Royal Family- it wasn't.  It was a prank on two (the receptionist and the nurse) hardworking private individuals who were just doing their jobs.  Did they follow procedure?  Obviously not, and there would and should have been repercussions though the workplace.  What they were not in a position to handle and what they never would have anticipated was the press attention and ridicule and criticism.  Few of us would be in a position to do well with that much publicity that they never asked for or wanted.  None of us know what other problems they had in their lives, but it was all too much for one of them . Sad.

[grandduchessella]

The FA had posted something on Facebook--that was the first I'd heard of it. So sad and tragic.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/kate-middleton-nurse-found-dead-prank-callers_n_2257231.html

It's what I said yesterday about those 'pranksters' didn't even think about the consquences in the real world just 'oh what a laugh'.

I don't think they are accountable for her actual death--that resides with her--but they do bear some responsibility for the situation in its whole. They just didn't think. I'm sure it never crossed their minds she would commit such a drastic act but how they couldn't have foreseen some possible employment consequences? The poor woman must've had other issues, I would imagine. Was her name public before this? I had always just heard 'a receptionist' or 'a nurse' with anything more specific.

I wouldn't compare it to Sarah Palin at all. She didn't bear any repercussions--she was looked at as the victim of the prank more in line almost with being the Kate of the situation. This woman actually was faced with losing her job or at least being reassigned and facing lord knows what at work.

Prank calling has a long and (un)illustrious history in the US going back as far as I can remember. I mean, Howard Stern was pulling this stuff in the 80s. Usually it's harmless and people either think 'oh that was funny' or 'oh he's an asshole'. This was really interfering with someone's job.

[grandduchessella]

The Huffington Post has some updates to the basic story:

UPDATE: The palace has released a statement: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha. Their Royal Highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha’s family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time."

UPDATE II, 12:18pm: The two Australian radio hosts, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, have both taken down their Twitter accounts, reports journalist Daniel Bentley. An executive producer for the station, 2Day FM, told TMZ, "I advise you to stop trying to call them" as the hosts have been "ordered" not to speak to media.

UPDATE III, 1:31pm: Greig and Christian of 2Day FM will be stepping away from their duties following the news of Saldanha's death. Southern Cross Austereo, the company that owns the station, released a statement reported by TMZ, which says, "SCA and 2Day FM are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha from King Edward VII’s Hospital. [...] SCA and the hosts have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy."

[Alixz]

Have "they decided" or are the owners of the station now worried about a law suit from Jacintha's family?

They probably could not have known that she would take her own life, but I still feel that they should make some recompense to her family.

It almost feels like what is called "felony murder" which is defined as:  it makes any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of that felony.

I don't know if making a "prank" call is defined as a felony maybe it is just a misdemeanor but the suicide was a result of the "prank" and the pranksters should be punished by more that taking down their Twitter accounts and getting few days off.

Actually, I heard that the hospital was trying to work with Jacintha and was not punishing her in a major way. 

JMHO

[Grace]

Actually, I think this whole incident should stop being discussed on this thread now.  I don't know about any else, but I'm getting angrier and angrier with each successive post.

This is no longer about the royal family, it is simply arguing about who was "responsible" for this woman's death (I know what I think about it) and the media and this thread is turning the whole thing into nothing but a witch-hunt which will help nobody.

Can we get on to discussing William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge?

[grandduchessella]

Have "they decided" or are the owners of the station now worried about a law suit from Jacintha's family?

They probably could not have known that she would take her own life, but I still feel that they should make some recompense to her family.

It almost feels like what is called "felony murder" which is defined as:  it makes any participant in such a felony criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of that felony.

I don't know if making a "prank" call is defined as a felony maybe it is just a misdemeanor but the suicide was a result of the "prank" and the pranksters should be punished by more that taking down their Twitter accounts and getting few days off.

Actually, I heard that the hospital was trying to work with Jacintha and was not punishing her in a major way.  

JMHO

It wouldn't even be felony murder here in the US and I don't think it's a felony in the UK or Australia either. I don't think even depraved indifference would be charged here because that has an expectation that some harm could come as a result of the action and I don't think ANYbody saw this happening.

Prince Charles, poked fun about the incident with reporters on Thursday (obviously before the tragedy) when he said he was very glad to hear the Duchess was feeling better.

“How do you know I’m not a radio station,” he joked, later adding that he is “thrilled” about the pregnancy. “It’s a very nice thought to become a grandfather in my old age, if I can say so,” Charles said at an event in London. He also said that “I’m very glad my daughter-in-law is getting better, thank goodness.”


The Washington Post noted that the royals have been the target of hoax callers before. Canadian disc jockey Pierre Brassard telephoned the queen in 1995, pretending to be Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. In a conversation that lasted 15 minutes, Brassard managed to elicit a promise from the monarch that that she would try to influence Quebec’s referendum on proposals to break away from Canada.

The case obviously ended on a much more somber note: The DJs have stepped down, or been asked to, temporarily; the Duke and Duchess have issued a statement as has the hospital--I don't know what may have gone on with the poor woman to cause her to take such drastic action but now that's it's moved away from the issue of the Duchess it's probably for the best to move the discussion along now. May she rest in peace and may her family find the strength to get through this trying time with the press hopefully backing off of them and giving them space to grieve and not digging around the woman's life too much.

With the DJ's 'prank' (which started off as an intrusion into the Duchess's privacy) and the telephoto lens photos of the Duchess sunbathing, I can't imagine either William or Catherine feel too much of a sense of privacy right now--at this most personal time in a married couple's life.

On a cheerier note, a couple more photos from when the Duchess left the hospital. I don't envy her putting on hose when feeling so badly, but otherwise I thought she had a good balance of being comfortable (because who wants to dress up when leaving the hospital) but fashionable enough for the gazillion cameras waiting them.

[grandduchessella]

On the name topic again:

"Royal children often boast an array of middle names offering them the chance to include a nod to both sets of relatives. They also might incorporate a Welsh name to reflect their links to Wales, a name with historical connections to the city of Cambridge or perhaps something Scottish to represent the time they spent together in St Andrews.

Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran, the authors of Cool Names for Babies, already have their predictions on the babyzone website - posted before Kate was even pregnant.

Suggestions include Alice (the name of Queen Victoria's second daughter and also the Duke of Edinburgh's mother), Amelia (George II's second daughter), Dorothea (meaning gift of god) and Charlotte (wife of George III) for a girl and Augustus (George II's middle name), Frederick (a son of George III) or Leopold (a son of Queen Victoria).

The last example of a great granddaughter of a still serving Sovereign born on the male line was Princess Mary, who was born in 1897 and was George VI's sister and a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

As to the child's surname, according to the monarchy's official website: "For the most part, members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time any of them do need a surname (such as upon marriage), that surname is Mountbatten-Windsor." William has used Wales professionally in the forces. His children might use Cambridge in the same way, or even Wales too as William still retains his title Prince William of Wales.

Bookmaker William Hill said it will pay out a "small five-figure sum" after many people betted on a 2013 royal baby. Speculation is rife over whether the Cambridges will have a boy or a girl, and what they will name their first born.

Odds are 10/11 for a boy and the same for a girl. Favourite names are Frances and John, both at 9/1, while Charles, Victoria and George are 10/1.

Spokesman Joe Crilly said: "We fully expect that the betting public will get involved in speculating what the baby will be called. When William and Catherine got married we were bowled over by a million pounds worth of bets and we predict similar levels of excitement before the birth of their first child."

William Hill is even offering odds on the colour of the newborn's hair - 6/4 brown, 2/1 blonde, 5/2 black, and 8/1 ginger.

Odds for other names include Anne, Diana, Phillip, Richard and Spencer at 12/1; Mary, Henry and Sarah at 14/1; Carole, William and Edward at 16/1; Alice, David, Victoria, Albert and Arthur at 20/1; and Elizabeth at 25/1.

If they think that baby has a better chance of having Fergie's name than the Queen's...well, I just don't know!

[grandduchessella]

Some royal tidbits:

*Kate's illness brought forward the royal couple's announcement ahead of the 12-week mark, with Prince Harry, who is currently serving in Afghanistan told over email and the Queen also only informed today (12/3). The royal pregnancy announcement on Monday was so unexpected even the Queen had only been aware she had another grandchild on the way an hour earlier.

*According to the Daily Mail's Royal correspondent Rebecca English, the pair had been hoping to keep the news to themselves until Christmas Day. "Members of the Royal Family – including the Queen and grandfather-to-be Prince Charles – were informed less than an hour before the statement was put out at 4pm yesterday."


*Prince Phillip was the last royal to be treated at the King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes, spending five days there during the Queen's Jubilee having treatment for a bladder infection.

*Other royal patient: Grandfather to-be Prince Charles had a routine hernia operation there in 2003, while Camilla had a hysterectomy at the private hospital in 2008. Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, was admitted to the hospital with an ectopic pregnancy in 2001. The late Queen Mother had two hip replacements performed by medical staff there and had a fish bone removed from her throat at the hospital in November 1982.

*Twitter is already being flooded with messages regarding people's feelings about the sheer number of press that were camped out in front of the hospital--some referring to them as 'vultures'. Politicians also weighed in: "Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested the newly announced pregnancy of the Duchess of Cambridge could be seen as a test of press restraint. "Let's hope that she gets some privacy from the media as appropriate - without needing any new laws to tell the media to do that," he told ITV's The Agenda with Tom Bradby.

*The couple had been on a visit to earlier and William had accepted a handmade baby outfit. The handmade baby-gro featured a helicopter and the words "Daddy's little co-pilot" - a reference to the Prince's career as a search and rescue captain. Samantha Hill told The Mirror: "I made it for when his little one comes along, he's a helicopter pilot so his baby will think his daddy is cool. "When I gave it to him he said 'I'll keep that' and handed it to his aide."

*Princess Mary, Princess Royal (b.1897) was the last great-granddaughter born to a sitting sovereign.

[grandduchessella]

Huffington Post had some funny 'Amazing Royal Baby Facts'

Until 1956, all royal babies were kept in cages.



All royal babies get their names by combining four names popular during the Victorian era with the name 'Windsor'.

All royal babies look like the young Winston Churchill - a fact which endlessly amuses their families.



It is impossible to guess the sex of a royal baby from its attire.

 

Royal babies grow up in the grounds of fairytale castles, where they vie for attention with corgis.



Everyone is happy when a royal baby arrives.

[RoyalWatcher]

I find it somewhat amusing that the Huffington Post referred to a "playpen" as a "cage!" Unbelievable.

[grandduchessella]

Well, they meant it all in humor. (Like the 'everyone's happy' one with everyone staring unsmilingly at the camera) They were all faux facts though some of them have a ring of truth!

I liked the one that says they dig through Victorian names and just stick a mishmash of 4 of them with Windsor. LOL

The whole article had more--learning to wave, etc...

[Alixz]

I have a friend who is a rabid Royal-ophile. When Diana went to Glamis to "learn" from the Queen Mother, my friend said that the first thing she would be taught was to 'wear those flowery yet stylish hats".

Of course she was joking.

The Duchess already has her own "hat style". At least she doesn't wear the strange creations worn by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

[grandduchessella]

Beatrice and Eugenie are totally upstaged by their 86 year old Grandma hat-wise.   The Queen's hats have gotten very stylish the last decade or so.

[Alixz]

In general the Queen has become much more stylish in the last decade. I wonder just how much of her dowdiness was because of her mother's influence?

I know that my mother always thought about what my grandmother would think about things before she made any decisions. My mother is 90 and born in the same decade as the Queen.

Maybe it is the decade and the styles and culture of her youth.

[RoyalWatcher]

Baby name fun! Okay, I'll chime in...

Girl: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana Carole

Boy: Arthur George Charles Michael

Well, I am sure my initial baby name is out now that Earl Spencer and new wife have just christened their little baby girl Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer.